


Looking Up

by songofhell



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 12x12 spoilers, M/M, post 12x12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9858497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songofhell/pseuds/songofhell
Summary: Picks up right where Stuck in the Middle (With You) leaves off.-12x12 spoilers below-Crowley has had quite the day, and just when he thinks the worst of it is over and he can drink away his worries, he gets a call from none other than Dean Winchester. It might not have been so bad, if he didn’t have Lucifer shouting in the background, saying all the things that the King of Hell did not want Dean to know. But when he finds out why Dean is calling... well, maybe things are looking up.





	

“That’s not my name,” Lucifer growled.

“It is now,” Crowley muttered. He was about to take another drink when his phone began to ring. He wanted to ignore it, but it might be word on the Colt, so he sighed as he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

“Who is it?” the devil cooed.

Crowely shot him a narrow-eyed glare, but otherwise ignored him as he answered the phone. “Haven’t I done enough for one day?”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Dean answered, as Lucifer began humming an annoying tune that Crowley did his best to block out.

“Then why are you calling, squirrel?”

“Ooooh, it’s _Dean,”_ Lucifer gushed. “Do you think if you confessed your love to him he would reciprocate or kill you? See, my money’s on him killing you.”

“Because… Who’s that?” The hunter’s voice was only vaguely curious, assuring Crowley that he didn’t hear clearly enough to make out any words, or to recognize the voice.

“No one important,” Crowley said coolly as he rose from his throne and strode out of the room.

“Awww, why are you leaving?” Lucifer shouted after him. “You don’t want me to overhear you compromising yourself for the idiot you love?”

Crowley growled to himself as he closed the door behind him. He needed to find a way to muzzle him.

Dean cleared his throat. “Um…”

He froze. “You heard that?”

“…Yeah…”

Crowley nodded. Of course he heard it. “That was just an attempt to piss me off,” he tried to smooth it over.

“I know you don’t let your demons talk to you that way,” Dean pointed out.

“That wasn’t anyone in my good graces, and I assure you, he’s already suffering quite nicely. Now, I’m assuming you called for a reason.”

“Yeah…” Dean took a moment to collect himself. “Um… you kinda zapped out before we got a chance to thank you.”

Crowley blinked in surprise. “You’ve never thanked me before.”

“True, but Cas would be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“Not for the first time.”

“Yeah, I know. And I know it’s not the first time you’ve come through for us, either, but… look, I’m thanking you now, okay?”

“Well, you’re welcome.” A small smile turned up the corners of his lips.

There was a pause long enough that Crowley would have thought Dean had hung up, if it weren’t for the fact that he could still hear him breathing. “Hey, so… why would a demon say that to piss you off?”

Crowley gritted his teeth. He did not want to be having this conversation. “Because he was fishing for anything to use against me.”

“But… that had to come from somewhere… right?”

Crowley’s eyes narrowed. “What are you insinuating, squirrel?”

“Oh, calm down, I know better than to think you actually love me. I was just wondering if demons actually thought you would compromise anything for my sake?”

His expression turned incredulous. “Are you serious? I just confronted the most powerful demon in the world to intervene on your behalf, when he had told me that if anyone came near him, it would be on my head. I sacrificed one of the most powerful weapons in the world to save your best friend. And that was just today, shall I go on?”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “I just figured you had some ulterior motive,” he finally muttered.

“If you count keeping the three of you alive as an ulterior motive, then yes. But the point remains that I have compromised _a lot_ for you, so don’t you tell me I never would.”

“But… why?”

Crowley sighed. “I doubt you’d understand,” he said bitterly.

“Try me.”

He hesitated for several seconds before deciding to simply tell him a sub-reason. “The world needs you three.”

Dean took a moment to process that. “Yeah, see, I can understand that reasoning. Which tells me that that’s not the real reason. Come on, Crowley, what’s the truth?”

“There’s no point in telling you.”

“Won’t know unless you do, will you?”

Crowley didn’t respond. He should probably just hang up, but something stopped him. Probably the same thing that stopped him from snapping Dean’s neck whenever he pissed him off.

“Alright, well I have a theory,” Dean continued when it became clear that Crowley wasn’t talking. “Will you tell me if I’m right?”

“I might,” he hedged.

“You care. Somewhere deep down in your cold, black heart, you care about us.”

 _“That_ would be a fundamentally stupid thing for me to do.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, it would be. Believe me, I thought the same thing when I realized I care about you.”

Crowley’s eyes widened slightly, and it took him a moment to respond. “Guess we’re both idiots, then.”

“Guess so.” He could hear the smile in Dean’s voice. “Does that mean you’ll join us for a drink?”

His eyebrows rose slightly. “You sure moose will be okay with that?”

“You saved Cas’s life. He’ll be okay enough.”

He smiled. “Well, then. Power down the wards, and I’ll be right there.”

“Done,” Dean replied a couple seconds later.

Crowley hung up, and after snapping his fingers for his decanter (no point in forcing down the alcohol they would have on hand), he teleported to the bunker. Sam and Castiel were sitting at the table, each with a beer in hand, and Dean was walking back over to them.

“You’re looking better, feathers,” Crowley noted.

“Thanks to you.” Castiel inclined his head slightly towards him.

He shrugged. “Just had a hunch.”

“Well, I’m glad you acted on it,” Sam turned to him.

“Me too.” He strolled over to take the seat beside where Dean had just sat down. “If anyone would like something _decent_ to drink.” He shook the decanter slightly before pouring himself a drink.

As soon as he was finished, Dean snatched it from his hand and poured his own glass. “Thanks.”

Crowley rolled his eyes. “Since when do you have a taste for the finer things?”

“Well, I’m not gonna turn my nose up at it.” He smirked at Crowley as he sat the decanter down in front of him.

Crowley quickly decided that drinking with the Winchesters was much preferable to drinking in his throne room with only the caged Lucifer for company. Sam was being nicer to him than usual, Castiel even more so, and Dean… well, Dean was actually treating him like a friend.

“I suppose I should get going,” Crowley said a couple hours later, after Sam and Castiel had both turned in.

“Right,” Dean muttered, almost reluctantly, as he followed Crowley’s lead and got to his feet.

Crowley arched an eyebrow at him. “Unless you have a reason for me not to.”

“Not really a reason, just… a question.”

“Oh?”

Dean licked his lips nervously. “That demon that was trying to piss you off… he was half right, wasn’t he? I mean, he said you were compromising stuff for us… except, he was saying it was for me… because you love me.”

Crowely kept his face expressionless. “What are you asking, Dean?”

“I-I don’t think you love me, but… was he onto something? I mean, you’re closer to me than you are to Sam or Cas.”

He took a deep breath as he carefully scrutinized Dean’s expression, trying to get a read on what he was thinking. “What do you want me to say?”

Dean sighed. “The truth would be nice.”

Crowley nodded slowly as his gaze darted away. “Alright, then…. Yes. He was onto something.”

There was a pause in which Crowley couldn’t bring himself to look at Dean, and then the hunter’s lips were on his. It only lasted a second, and then Dean was watching him hopefully as Crowley fixed him with a steady gaze.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Crowley said smoothly, carefully reining in his emotions.

Dean shrugged. “Maybe. Doesn’t change anything, though. Okay, well, I might not have actually kissed you if I’d been sober, but I’d have wanted to.”

The corners of his lips twitched up as he fought against the hope he felt. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” he said matter-of-factly.

“In that case…” He took a step closer, resting his hands casually on Dean’s waist and getting a thrill at the ability to do so. “How about we make this just you and me next time?”

Dean smiled. “Tomorrow work for you?”

“Eager, are we?” Crowley taunted, though his smile matched Dean’s. “I’ll be here at seven.” He leaned in for another kiss, teleporting back to his throne room just a couple seconds after their lips met. As much as he would have loved for the kiss to last longer, he couldn’t resist teasing Dean.

He had a large smirk plastered over his face as he stepped in front of the bars separating himself from Lucifer. “Pay up.”

The devil’s eyes were narrowed as they turned to Crowley. “Excuse me?”

“You said that your money was on Dean killing me if I admitted my feelings for him. You couldn’t have been more wrong. So – oh wait, you don’t have anything to pay me with, do you? Because you have _nothing.”_ His smirk grew as Lucifer glowered at him. “I suppose I’ll just accept you getting me a date as payment. I don’t know that Dean would have asked me out if it weren’t for what you shouted earlier, after all. Good dog.”

The incredulously furious expression on Lucifer’s face was easily the second-best thing to come out of the night. Before he could muster up a retort, Crowley teleported from the room to ensure that he had the last word for the night. The day had been far from perfect – being thrown around by a Prince of Hell and losing the Colt being the most troublesome parts – but things were definitely looking up.


End file.
